…at least at first. David Durk died last month. And I didn’t even know it. That really would have pissed him off. (My excuse for missing the obits was that I was en-route to a conference in Chicago. Here’s one. And another. And a third.) Let me take you back a bit. In October, 2009, there was this strange voice…
Gun Rights? “Your Side Won”
I’ve said it before: “Barring some seismic realignment in this country, the gun control debate is all but settled–and your side won. The occasional horrific civilian massacre is just the price the rest of us have to pay.” And then there’s this gem of a cartoon.
Breaking the Taboo
The documentary is out: Breaking the Taboo. Directed by Cosmo Feilding Mellen and Fernando Grostein Andrade, it stars Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Morgan Freeman, leaders of Brazil, Mexico, Switzerland, Colombia, and an additional cast of dozens (including me): My favorite parts? Other than the guy who appears before Bill Clinton at 17:15, it would be the former President of Brazil,…
Cop Does Good, paper reports
An all too rare reporting of a cop doing a good deed. Of course the cynic in me worries that he will get in trouble for 1) being off post, 2) shopping while on duty, and 3) accepting a police discount. That’s they way cops think because that’s the way the departments can f*ck you, when they want to. Only…
Incarceration numbers down
A BJS reportreports the number of state and federal prisoners decreased last year by 17,264. This has been called a small step in the right direction (since there’s no reason the US should lead the world in incarceration rate and numbers). But what I haven’t heard, and it seems relevant, is that this decrease can wholly be accounted for by…
Law Enforcement Againt the Drug War
SafeKeepersis a video series profiling law enforcement officials who’ve been on the front lines of the drug war and mass incarceration. (in partnership with LEAP)
The Law and Order Database
Why TV isn’t reality. And done in such a charming nerdy way.
Now Hiring: John Jay College Dept. of Law & Police Science
“Did you say tenured-track professor in New York City!?” Why, yes I did. My department at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (Law, Police Science, and Criminal Justice Administration) is hiring 3 (count ’em, three) tenure-track assistant-professor lines. Two are police-related; one a more general criminal-justice (or it might be the other way around, but that doesn’t really matter). You…
Legal Marijuana
My friend, Neill Franklin of LEAP, spells it out (and does so far better than I could have).